When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002,
its founder, Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared like a devout Muslim
seeking to eliminate corruption and improve the standard of living of
Turkish citizens.
During the last 13 years, Erdogan gradually turned into a corrupt
despot, assuming the airs of a modern-day Ottoman Sultan. Was he a
wolf in sheep's clothing to start with, or was he spoiled
by the international community's blind support and lavish
praise? Notably, Pres. Obama had called Erdogan one of five world
leaders with whom he felt especially close. Obama and other heads of
state have finally realized that the monster they created is out of
the bottle and out of control! The primary victim of misplaced trust
in Erdogan was none other than Syria's President Bashar
al-Assad.
To show how arrogant Erdogan and Turkey's top leaders have
become, here are excerpts from their recent public pronouncements, as
documented by The Middle East Media Research Institute:
In a speech on January 21 at the Parliamentary Union of Islamic
Countries in Istanbul, Erdogan, sounding like an ISIS leader rather
than President of a NATO member state, urged Muslim countries to
`unite and defeat the successors of Lawrence of Arabia who
seek to disrupt the Middle East.' He went on to accuse the
West of plotting against the Islamic world and causing Muslims to kill
one another.
During his recent visit to Djibouti, Erdogan boasted:
`Turkey is a powerful country. If you [European Union]
still see Turkey as a country that would beg at your [EU's]
door, Turkey is not a country to beg.' In response to
earlier European criticism of media crackdowns in Turkey, Erdogan told
EU leaders to `keep your insights to
yourselves,' and added: `Take the trouble to
come to Turkey, so that Turkey can teach you a lesson in
democracy.'
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, while accompanying
Erdogan on his African trip, shamelessly played the race card, telling
the locals: `For the first time since the Ottomans left,
Africans are seeing a white hand that does not exploit, enslave or
punch them in their heads; a white hand that does not exploit their
mines, eliminate their values, assimilate them or see them as
subhuman. They are seeing the white hand of Turkey, which sees them as
equals and as brothers¦. We are trying to help the rebirth
of these black-skinned but warm-hearted people.' Kurtulmus
was probably hoping that his African listeners would be unaware that
Erdogan frequently uses the derogatory and racist term
`zenci'(black) to describe lower class people!
Not to be outdone by Erdogan and Kurtulmus in arrogance or religious
fanaticism, Prime Minister Davutoglu told a large Turkish gathering in
Zurich last month: `Islam is Europe's indigenous
religion, and will continue to be so. Despite the roadblocks,
prejudices and many provocations, Turkey will continue to walk on the
road to EU membership¦. With Allah's grace, we
will never bow our heads. We are the grandchildren of the heroes who
fought at Gallipoli, who never bowed their heads. In 2002, when we
came to power, they [EU] said that Turkey was too poor, too weak a
country that would become a burden on Europe. Thank Allah, today
Turkey is the rising power of the world¦. We are not a
burden for Europe. Turkey is the cure for Europe! Turkey is the cure
for their disease of racism. We are the cure to their economic
slowdown. We are the cure to their loss of power¦. From
Andalusia [Spain] to the Ottomans, and, half a century ago with the
holy march of our people who
came here from every corner of Anatolia, the sound of the azan
[Muslim call to prayer] brought these heroes to Europe. The domes of
the mosques with which they dotted this continent will be protected;
we will continue to fight against the hands that reach out to harm
them. I kiss the foreheads of my brothers who carried the Tekbir [the
prayer call 'Allahu Akbar'] to Zurich¦. How holy those
people were who came and sowed the seeds here which will, with
Allah's help, continue to grow into a huge tree of justice
in the center of Europe. No one will be able to stop this!
'
Davutoglu persisted in making absurd and arrogant statements last
week, this time in Ankara, telling minority representatives:
`We will teach a lesson to racists in Europe.'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been ordered to pay a TL
10,000 (about $4,000) fine for calling a statue in the eastern province
of Kars a "monstros," Today's Zaman reports, quoting Cihan news agency.

The Istanbul 3rd Civil Court of Peace ruled on Tuesday that Erdogan
must pay TL 10,000 to sculptor Mehmet Aksoy for psychological damage
the president caused by calling the statue in Kars a monstrosity.

Erdogan and Aksoy were represented by their lawyers during the
hearing. Speaking to journalists, Erdogan's lawyer Erdopan Ferah
YÄ±ldÄ±z said they will file an appeal against the court decision.

In January 2011, Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time,
criticized Aksoy's statue, titled "Monument to Humanity," which also
meant to symbolize friendship between Turkey and Armenia, saying:
"They put a monstrosity next to the tomb of [Muslim scholar] Hasan
Harakani. It is impossible to think that such a thing should exist
next to fundamental works of art." He said he hopes Kars Mayor Nevzat
BozkuÅ~_, who hails from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK
Party), will do what is necessary with the area in which the statue
is located by the time he visits again, and mentioned that he hopes
he builds a park there instead.

The statue was then taken down on June 14, 2011, by the Kars
Municipality.

Aksoy, the sculptor of the statue, strongly criticized Erdogan's
comment, saying that his work carries anti-war themes and messages of
friendship. He then filed a lawsuit against Erdogan for insulting his
statue, seeking TL 100,000 in compensation for psychological damage
sustained due to the insult.

The statue, which is of two 30-meter-tall concrete figures reaching
out to each other, was built on a hill above Kars, just 40 kilometers
from the Armenian border, in 2008. The "Monument to Humanity" was
also meant to symbolize the friendship between Turkey and Armenia.

Arrogant SOB there are thousands of documents from around the world produced by renowned historians proving the AG. If they bring million more you will still ask for proof. You can shove that cleansed archives of yours where the sun don't shine.

18:22 19/03/2015 » REGION

Bring your documents, Erdogan calls on Armenian diaspora

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has challenged the Armenian diaspora to come up with documents to resolve the intractable political issue surrounding the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians 100 years ago, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
“O, the Armenian diaspora, our documents are here. Whatever documents you have, bring them,” Erdogan said while inaugurating an exhibition on World War I in the Ottoman Archive Facility in Istanbul on March 19.
Erdogan said Turkey opened “millions of classified documents in its archives” to public, urging the Armenian diaspora and Yerevan, as well as third countries, to do the same for historians to “find the truth.”

The Presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, had a telephonic conversation at the initiative of the
Turkish side.

During the talk, the presidents of the two countries discussed the
prospects for the development of bilateral relations, energy issues,
and matters related to Ukraine, informed the Turkish Service of the
Sputniknews agency of Russia.

It is noted that, during this telephone conversation, Erdogan also
reflected on the Armenian Genocide issue claiming that Turkey supports
the approach of a "just memory," whereas Armenia disregards the calls
for peace, and does not display a positive approach toward the proposal
to set up a joint historical commission.

The Armenian Genocide is as vivid a historical fact as the presence of
the Moon and Son in the sky, a senior parliament official has said,
commenting on the Turkish president's recent call on the Armenian
diaspora for opening archives.

"And more vivid facts are the thousands of desecrated churches and
ruined villages, the millions of lands Armenians were dispossessed
of and the one million Armenian community that lived in the Ottoman
Empire it had to take a narrow flight from.

"That's the Deir ez-Zor desert, as well as the documents; that's
the very ruling by the Court-Martial and the secret decision by
the Young Turks' government. That's the Entente countries statement
saying that the crime committed against the Armenians was a crime
against civilization. And also the UN resolutions," Vice Speaker of
the National Asssembly Eduard Shamazanov told Tert.am, calling for the
Turkish president's attention to the long-proven historical records.

Are Turkish archives open for Armenian and foreign scholars? For
comments on this and other questions, Tert.am talked to Ruben
Safrastyan, Director of the National Academy's Institute of Oriental
Studies, who stressed the importance of probing into Turkey's state
archives. The expert said he knows that what Turkey calls party
archives do not exist any more as a matter of fact.

"The Armenian Genocide was committed not only through state but also
party archives through which the orders were transmitted. So if, for
example, the records in the state archives envisaged a deportation,
the Young Turks' Party, which governed the entire state and had
representatives in all the provinces, transmitted orders for organizing
the Armenian people's extermination. And those party archives were
either destroyed or hidden," he told our correspondent.

Safrastyan said he knows that archives are open only formally in
Turkey, adding that Armenia is clearly aware that Turkish intelligence
services worked with them for years. "And they have polished the
papers which could pose a threat. And special groups worked in the
archives for years," added the scholar.

Yerevan's response to Erdogan: Arrive in Yerevan and be made aware of
Armenian Genocide facts

by Ashot Safaryan
Saturday, March 21, 10:33

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can arrive in Yerevan on April
24, visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial and be made aware of the
mountains of evidences of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
The remarks came from Eduard Sharmazanov, vice speaker of the Armenian
Parliament, commenting at the request of ArmInfo on Erdogan's recent
call to the Armenian Diaspora.

To recap, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently urged
the Armenian Diaspora to prove its Genocide claims by bringing out
documents to support them. The Turkish president said Turkey's
archives are open.

Eduard Sharmazanov reminds Erdogan that the best proofs of the
Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire are in the Western Armenia.
These are thousands of Armenian churches and communities destroyed and
desecrated by the Turks, millions of Armenians deported from their
historical motherland, and the multi-million Diaspora in the world.
"The best evidence is the Deir ez-Zor desert where hundreds of
thousands of Armenian women, children and elderly people died. The
secret decision of the Young Turks government, and the May 24, 1915
statement by the Entente condemning Turkey's crimes against Armenians
and the entire humanity," Sharmazanov said.

Graffiti on the wall of St. Mary's Church in Istanbul says '1915,
a blessed year'

ISTANBUL--Anti-Armenian hate speech graffiti appeared on the walls
of an Armenian church, around the same time as the Mayor of Ankara
called Armenians "disgusting." All this ahead of the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.

The St. Mary's (Sourp Astvadzadzin) Church in the Bakirkoy neighborhood
of Istanbul was desecrated with hate speech graffiti that read "1915,
a blessed year," reported Today's Zaman newspaper.

Another message on the church was read: "What does it matter if you
are all Armenian when there is already one Ogun Samast," referring
to the convicted killer of Hrant Dink, after whose death many Turks
took to the streets with placards that read "We are all Dink. We are
all Armenian."

Another insciption on the church wall reads: 'What does it matter if
you are all Armenian when there is already one Ogun Samast'

Today's Zaman wrote that its reporter visited the site on Wednesday
morning and found that the graffiti had been painted over. But an
administrator at the church said, "This type of thing happens all
the time." The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul refused to comment
on the matter. No criminal complaint has been filed.

The incident comes hot on the heels of another racist slur against
Armenians in Turkey. It was reported on Tuesday that Ankara Mayor
Melih Gokcek had filed a criminal complaint against Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hayko Bagdat on defamation charges after Bagdat posted
lighthearted tweets on his Twitter account referring to the mayor as
an Armenian after the March 2014 local elections.

Gokcek appears to believe it an insult to be called an Armenian
as his lawyer petitioned the Ankara Prosecutor's Office, saying,
"The statements [by Bagdat] are false and include insult and libel."

Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek

Ankara mayor says being called an "Armenian" is an insult Ankara Mayor
Melih Gokcek has filed a criminal complaint against Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hayko Bagdat on defamation charges, after the latter
jokingly posted tweets referring to him as an Armenian after the
March 2014 local elections.

According to the Diken website and the state-run Anadolu news agency,
Gokcek's petition to the Ankara Prosecutor's Office stated that Bagdat,
who has more than 300,000 followers on Twitter, wrote a series of posts
in the wake of Gokcek's victory in last year's March elections. One
of Bagdat's messages said: "It is official; they gave the capital
city to an Armenian. What a shame!" according to the petition.

The petition also said a Twitter hashtag "melihgokcekermeniymis"
(Melih Gokcek turns out to be Armenian) was allegedly used by Bagdat
in his tweets on the social media website.

Gokcek's lawyer said in the petition that the mayor is "a citizen of
the Turkish Republic who loves his country and his nation" and that
Bagdat is aware of this. "The statements [by Bagdat] are false and
include insult and libel," the petition said.

In addition, the mayor filed a lawsuit with the court claiming that
he was insulted by being called "Armenian."

Gokcek also sued Bagdat in civil court, demanding compensation of
10,000 liras for psychological damages. Bagdat announced the lawsuit on
Twitter, saying: "Turns out Melih Gokcek sued me demanding 10,000 liras
for calling him "Armenian, dude. We are going to have so much fun."

Recep Pasha must give up Neo-Ottomanism ideology and apologize to the great nations of the region, the deputy president of the IRI Majlis for Security and Foreign Policy Affairs, Mansour Haghighatpour, declared, according to the Iranian site Vatankhahan.com.
“Erdogan thinks he can take a place among the other sultans as a winning sultan, yet Recep Pasha must give up Neo-Ottomanism ideology and apologize to the great nations of the region,” the Iranian MP particularly said referring to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent statement addressed to Iran.
Proceeding with his speech, the deputy president of the IRI Majlis for Security and Foreign Policy Affairs added, “Recep Pasha, intervening in the interior affairs of the countries of the region, has participated in 130,000 innocent people’s massacre in Syria. I think Erdogan just cannot visit Iran in current state of affairs.”
Mohammad Esmayil Sayidi, another MP from the Iranian Majlis, said that the Foreign Ministry of Iran must come up with a statement preventing Erdogan’s visit to Iran because of his sham statements.
According to Iranian site Irdiplomacy.ir, in an interview to the TV channel France 24, the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in response to the question whether Turkey is concerned about the growing role of Iran in the region (Syria, Iraq, Yemen), had said, “No doubt, Iran wants to take control over the whole region. This is certainly not a positive development. We have discussed Syria and Iraq with them [the Iranians]; still, we have not noted a positive move yet. As for the Islamic State, Iran’s actions are not sincere in that matter. Iran tries to take control over the territories which are under ISIS’s possession and take actions at the background of Shia-Sunni split.”
As the Iranian Fars News Agency reports, IRI Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in answer to the above-mentioned statement of the President of Turkey, said, “Those who have suffered irreversible losses as a result of their strategic mistakes and ambitious politics had better contribute to the stability of the region with responsible policy.”

A couple of years ago, when Armenians throughout the world began
making plans for the Armenian Genocide Centennial, they had two major
concerns: What kind of events to organize that would be most
appropriate for this solemn occasion? And, how to conceal their plans
from the Turkish government so it would be unable to undermine or
disrupt them?
Little did Armenians know that inadvertently Turkish leaders would end
up being their best `ally,' and instead of disrupting Armenians'
Centennial plans, they would make such preposterous statements that
would globally propagate the Armenian Genocide beyond anyone's wildest
expectations.
A Hollywood scriptwriter could not have done a better job than what
Erdogan as Prime Minister and then President did to ensure that the
Armenian Centennial is commemorated with the greatest possible
audience in the world.
Long before the start of the Centennial year, Erdogan set the stage by
undermining his own credibility and that of his country by making
outlandish declarations: He claimed that Muslims discovered America
before Columbus; that it was impossible for Muslims to commit
genocide; and told TV host Charlie Rose that since there are still
Armenians in Istanbul, there could not have been a genocide.
Erdogan went on to shut down Youtube and Twitter because he disliked
some of their content; had a teenage student arrested for writing an
essay the Modern Day Sultan didn't approve; jailed journalists and
cartoonists for criticizing his policies; prosecuted Muslim cleric
Fethullah Gulen's followers and high-ranking military officers under
the pretext that they were plotting against His Highness; o rdered the
shooting of peaceful protesters in Istanbul's Gezi Park; and i
nstructed his son during a secretly recorded phone conversation on how
to conceal tens of millions of dollars in cash!
With his harsh statements and rude outbursts, Erdogan managed to
antagonize leaders of many of the countries he dealt with, including
the United States, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus,
Russia, and Syria. In effect, he turned his foreign policy of `zero
problems with neighbors,' to `zero neighbors without problems!'
At the start of this year, as the Genocide Centennial drew near,
Erdogan shifted to high gear. He came up with the `brilliant' idea of
rescheduling the Gallipoli commemoration to April 24, and inviting
leaders of over 100 countries to Turkey in order to steal the
limelight away from the Armenian Genocide commemorations in Yerevan on
that date. The Turkish President sought to rewrite history by accusing
Armenians of changing the Genocide Centennial Date to April 24!
Such childish maneuvers did not go unnoticed by the international
community. Countless articles were written exposing Erdogan's dirty
tricks. Instead of undermining the Armenian commemorations, the
Turkish leader ended up propagating the Genocide Centennial, long
before Armenians had organized a single event!
Then came the memorable sermon of Pope Francis on April 12, accusing
Turkey of committing `the first genocide of the 20th century' against
the Armenian people! In response, Erdogan recalled his Ambassador from
the Vatican, and then, along with his normally cool-headed Prime
Minister Davutoglu and the entire cast of Turkish officialdom started
insulting the Pope, the Catholic Church, and even Argentina, the
Pope's birthplace! Thus, within a few days, Turkey's leaders managed
to antagonize over a billion Catholics around the world.
Erdogan warned the Pope that he would take additional actions against
the Catholic Church, implying that he would convert Istanbul's ancient
Greek Hagia Sophia Church to a mosque. Should he take such an extreme
action, he would be antagonizing the rest of the Christian world
against Turkey.
Within days of the Pope's history-making sermon, the European
Parliament adopted yet another resolution acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide. Meanwhile, Erdogan continued his anti-European and
anti-Christian diatribe by accusing Europeans of being anti-Turkish
and anti-Islam. Naturally, Europeans began to question how such a
lunatic leader could ever join the European family of nations!
Thousands of newspapers, TV stations, and websites reported the
Turkish leaders' berserk reaction, and criticized their denial of the
Armenian Genocide. The world's attention to Armenians has been quite
overwhelming with the extensive coverage of Kardashians' trip to
Armenia, the Pope's remarkable sermon, and the European Parliament's
Resolution on the Armenian Genocide. Armenians could not have gained
such immense publicity on the eve of the Armenian Genocide Centennial,
if they had spent a billion dollars and hired 100 PR firms!

Plans to install a sculpture commemorating the Armenian Genocide in
one of Copenhagen's busiest squares have Turkish officials up in arms.

A sculpture that will be placed in the heart of Copenhagen in
commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
threatens to further derail the already-strained relations between
Denmark and Turkey.

The nine-metre high sculpture, entitled 'The Draem' (Danish Remembrance
Armenian Empathy Messenger), is to be placed in the square Kultorvet
for ten days in May to mark 100 years since upwards of 1.5 million
Armenians were killed by the Ottoman regime.

The plans have elicited a protest from the Turkish Embassy in
Copenhagen.

Allen Sayegh is an architect and a professor at Harvard University
and is the chief designer of the sculpture in Copenhagen that is
causing a stir with Turkey. He wrote an open letter to the president
of Turkey for their reaction.

President Recep Tayyip ErdogÌ~Fan

Presidential Palace, 06560,

Bestepe-Ankara

Turkey

Dear Honorable President ErdogÌ~Fan,

You probably do not know me but some in your government are
apparently furious about one of my urban interventions in downtown
Copenhagen. Most will not empathize with this sentiment of fury and
I also am unable to do so. Let me briefly explain.

I am an architect living in Cambridge, US. My studio INVIVIA was
commissioned for this piece in downtown Copenhagen. The piece coincides
with the centennial of the systematic mass killings and the death
marches of the Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. Our goal was to stay
away from politics and we gave it a poetic name, calling it the 'The
DRAEM' (pronounced "The Dream") â~@~R it is an unresolved dream. It
also stands for Danish Remembrance Armenian Empathy Messenger. It is
an interactive urban piece in the peaceful downtown of Copenhagen that
engages the urban space and emulates the notion of collective empathy.

I leave it to politicians, historians and psychologists to analyze
why a country would be so upset about an interactive urban sculpture.

But in a 21st century civilized society, I would like to echo the
reaction of Carl Christian Ebbesen (from the Copenhagen Municipality)
to the Turkish government reaction and stress the importance of
freedom of art and freedom of speech.

Mr. President, it has been one hundred long years and it is time
for empathy.

ISTANBUL - In a major blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is set to lose its
parliamentary majority in Parliament, according to unofficial results
of a parliamentary election held on Sunday, Today's Zaman reports.

With about 95 percent of the vote counted, the AK Party, which was
co-founded and led for more than a decade by Erdogan, won 41 percent,
well ahead of other parties but about 8 percent below its 49-percent
vote in the previous election in 2011.

Erdogan has fervently campaigned for a parliamentary majority for the
AK Party big enough to push for constitutional changes to introduce a
presidential system, under which he would have greater executive
powers.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was the rising star of
the election, winning nearly 13 percent of the vote that is set to
give it nearly 80 deputies.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was at about 25
percent of the vote - apparently losing some votes to the HDP - while
the nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was just under 17
percent.

Three Armenians Elected
According to the results of the parliamentary election three Armenians
will be represented in the Turkish parliament after a long absence,
Hurriyet daily reports.

Markar Esayan, an Armenian-Turkish journalist for the pro-AKP daily
Yeni Safak, entered the parliament on an AKP ticket as the 12th
candidate from Istanbul's second election area.

Attorney Selina Dogan, from the Republican People's Party (CHP), was
elected as the first deputy candidate from the second election area of
the CHP's Istanbul list.

Garo Paylan, who ran for parliament as the second nominee from the
pro-Kurdish HDP's third election area in Istanbul was also elected.

Erol Dora, who is a member of Turkey's Syriac community and a lawyer,
was the HDP's third deputy candidate from Mardin and an incumbent in
the legislature was also elected.

In addition to the four Christians, two members of Turkey's small
Yazidi community were also elected for the HDP ` Feleknas Uca from
Diyarbakir and Ali Atalan from Batman.

The preliminary results of the Turkish parliament delineate a new
interesting picture of the domestic policy of this country which may
be considered the incumbent president Erdogan's defeat but Turkey's
victory.

According to the preliminary results, President Erdogan's Justice and
Development Party has received 40.8% of votes. It is not enough to
form a government. Compared with the previous election, this party
has lost about 9%. Erdogan's Party now has to form a coalition with
one of the three opposition parties which have received more than 10%.

The pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party has received 10.8%. The
Nationalism Movement Party has received 16.4%, and the Republican
People's Party has received 25.1%.

Erdogan has to form a coalition with one of these three forces to be
able to form a government.

Most importantly, however, aside from a coalition and government,
Erdogan is facing the danger of losing the prospect of establishing
presidential governance through a constitutional reform. The incumbent
president needed an absolute victory to bring the constitutional
reform into being,.

Hence, Erdogan has achieved a strong political influence and power
but this power will not get structuralized. Moreover, it is already
possible to speak about the sunset of this power. At least, the
Turkish parliamentary election contains such hints.

The votes of the rightist Republican People's Party and the Nationalist
Movement were up by 4.5% and 3% respectively compared with the previous
election. In its first parliamentary election the pro-Kurdish party
overcomes the hurdle of 10% and will get 78 of 550 seats in parliament.

Hence, Erdogan has lost, and the oppositionists have achieved more.

In fact, the Turkish parliament has actually disapproved Erdogan's
intention of constitutional reforms and presidential rule and voted for
parliamentary rule in Turkey. The final result of the election will be
known in 10-12 days, the central electoral commission announced. Time
will show whether something extraordinary will happen by then or
Erdogan will accept his defeat.

Recently the Turkish president has been quite anxious. At the end of
his campaign Erdogan was trying to arm with the global conspiracy
theory. This did not help him, however, and the Turkish citizens
found Erdogan's ambitions more dangerous than some conspiracy or
homosexuals or Armenian lobby or the Western press. This is Turkey's
victory because Turkey which has problems with the Euro-Atlantic
community would otherwise add trouble.

At the same time, the results of the election are positive for Armenia
too. Structural changes in Turkey would have been reflected in this
country's behavior, as well as regional policy. Erdogan's supremacy
would have made Turkey's policy tougher and unpredictable.

Hence, pedaling of such prospects favors Armenia. The slightest trend
of democratization in Turkey is beneficial for Armenia. On the other
hand, it is worth attention that the nationalist force has received
more votes in that country. At the same time, the pro-Kurdish force
is represented in parliament for the first time.

On the whole, the preliminary picture of the Turkish parliamentary
election indicates that Ankara will have to refrain from its currently
tough opposition to the West and will avoid crossing the line beyond
which it will become uncontrollable. Turkey which is on the orbit of
Western policy, under Western control, guided by democratic rules of
the game is preferable for Armenia and the South Caucasus.

In the meantime, this circumstance is a challenge to Armenia. Turkey
thereby moves several steps ahead of Armenia where the electoral
processes are meant to ensure stability of feudalism as indicated by
the local elections held in Armenia simultaneously with the Turkish
parliamentary elections in two centers of the Armenian clannish-feudal
and criminal-oligarchic reality, Abobyan and Artashat.

Political crisis is awaits Turkey as the ruling Justice and Development
Party has failed to win the majority, while the rest of the parties
will not form coalition either with Erdogan or with each other,
expert of Turkish studies Hakob Chakryan told reporters today.

Hakob Chakryan said it was importance for the People's Democratic
Party to cross the threshold of 10 percent. Had it receive less than
10 percent of the ballot, the votes would add up to those of Erdogan's
party. The latter would thus be able to change the constitution and
make Turkey a presidential republic.

The dream vanished as the ruling party even failed to make a simple
majority, the expert said. According to him, the perspectives are dim,
as the four parties to be represented in the 500-seat parliament are
unlikely to form a coalition.

"None of the opposition parties is willing to form a coalition with
the Justice and Development party. Neither do they want to form a
coalition with each other. Therefore, political crisis is awaiting
Turkey. Even yesterday, there were already talks about snap elections.

That means the situation is not that good," Chakryan said.

As for the three Armenians to be represented in the Turkish Parliament,
the expert said "they cannot play any positive role for the Armenian
Cause."

"If they at least manage to defend the interests of the Turkish
Armenian communty, that will be positive," he said.

GARO PAYLAN: IT'S NOT HAVING THREE ARMENIAN MPS IN PARLIAMENT THAT MATTERS, BUT WHAT THEY WILL SAY AND DO

16:02, 10 Jun 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

HDP Istanbul Member of Parliament Garo Palyan spoke to AGOS after
the results of Sunday parliamentary elections in Turkey were announced.

Paylan said that they had expected to win 11-13% of the votes, and
that the results were not a surprise.

Paylan stated that the HDP's victory had come as a result of
four-year hard work, and said: "We founded the HDP in 2011. During the
2-year foundation period, all identities and all democratic groups
came together. Our party includes all identities, and we stand for
equality. We are also aware that this has not been tried in politics
in Turkey before. Ours is a discourse of radical democracy with no
ifs and buts."

One of the three new Armenian MPs in Parliament, Paylan explained his
goals as follows: "It's not having three Armenian MPs in Parliament
matters, it's what they will say and do. My party will stand out with
its policy based on equality. The AKP also has Kurdish MPs but we have
not witnessed an egalitarian approach from them. All other parties
need to show more effort on this matter. It was this discourse that
brought us success, I wish other parties can see that politics in
Turkey can change."

Commentary
We Should Worry More about Erdogan's
Dangerous Actions Than His Crazy Stories
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has completely destroyed his
credibility by making numerous bizarre claims in recent years.
For example, Erdogan told a group of Latin American Muslims visiting
Istanbul last year that Muslim Pilgrims discovered America over 300
years before Christopher Columbus:
`It is alleged that the American continent was discovered by Columbus
in 1492. In fact, Muslim sailors reached the American continent 314
years before Columbus in 1178. ¦In his memoirs, Christopher
Columbus mentions the existence of a mosque atop a hill on the coast
of Cuba. A mosque would look perfect on that hill today.'
When people around the world scoffed at the President's unfounded
assertion, Turkish reporter Oray Egin found out that Erdogan had
completely misconstrued what Columbus had written in his memoirs
comparing a mountaintop in Cuba to `a pretty mosque.' Turkey's leader
wrongly concluded that Columbus had seen a mosque built by Muslim
sailors!
In one of many spoofs poking fun at Erdogan, someone sarcastically
alleged that Astronaut Neil Armstrong wrote in his autobiography:
`When we landed on the moon, we saw the ruins of a magnificent
building. Buzz Aldrin and I were amazed as we approached the
ruins. This was a small, elaborately-built Ottoman mosque. When we
came back to earth, NASA and the American government ordered us not to
talk about it.'
Such outlandish pronouncements attributed to the Turkish leader
continue to pop up on the internet. Given Erdogan's penchant for
telling wacky stories, many people tend to believe anything they read
about him.
Here is a recent example: `Ottomans were the first to reach the moon,
says Turkish President,' wrote Barbara Johnson in the World News Daily
Report. She quoted Erdogan saying: `It is alleged that the first man
to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong in 1969. In fact, Muslim space
explorers reached our satellite 334 years before that, in
1635. Everyone knows the story of the famous aviator, Lagari Hasan
Celebi, the `Ottoman Rocket Man,' who made the first successful manned
rocket flight in 1633. What you might not know, is that he attempted
to reach the moon two years later and could very well have succeeded.'
According to Turkish mythology, legendary Ottoman aviator Lagari Hasan
Celebi launched in 1633 a 7-winged rocket using 140 lbs. of
gunpowder. Before his flight, he reportedly proclaimed: `O my Sultan!
Be blessed, I am going to talk to Jesus!' After his rocket landed in
the sea, Celebi allegedly swam ashore and announced: `O my Sultan!
Jesus sends his regards to you!"
Reporter Johnson continued her whimsical story: `Pres. Erdogan's
surprising claim generated some whispers and laughter from the
audience, a reaction that clearly angered the Turkish politician. He
slammed the skeptics for mocking his claims, adding that he would soon
have the proofs to back his claims. `Why do you not believe it?
Because you've never believed that a Muslim can do such a
thing¦. NASA may have destroyed most of the physical evidence of
the Ottoman's success during the Apollo 11 mission, but we'll try to
find any evidence that might have escaped the cover up.'
Of course, what Johnson wrote was not true. Erdogan never uttered
those words. However, it is interesting that many Turks believed the
fake story, and posted the following comments in reaction to Johnson's
article:
-- Ali Emre Demir: `Unfortunately, he is our President.'
-- Berkay: `The scary thing is, if you are living in that nation and
witness all the things that man does, and see how many supporters he
has. This is an embarrassment.'
-- Deniz: `Poor, secular Turkish people! This Tayyip is the
embarrassment of Turkey.'
-- Huseyin: `You cannot imagine what we have been suffering. He is a
solid tyrant¦. He is a complete dishonor to us.'
Indeed, Erdogan is a big embarrassment to millions of Turks who are
ashamed of him as their President. Unfortunately, the Turkish
President's actions are more ruthless than his words: He jails
reporters, orders the shooting of civil rights activists, sues those
who disagree with him, stashes away millions of dollars obtained by
corrupt means, dismisses judges and law enforcement officials who
refuse to carry out his illegal orders, and supports the infiltration
of ISIS terrorists into Syria and Iraq.
The international community should worry more about Erdogan's
terrifying actions than his delirious ramblings!

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. In the latest series of tweets by
government whistleblower Fuat Avni, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's
son Bilal has allegedly been snuck into Italy with armed guards,
in the event the Erdogan clan must flee Turkey over possible treason
charges. "Armenpress" reports the aforementioned referring to BGN NEWS.

"Noticing that he's nearing the end of the road, [President Erdogan]
has ordered Bilal to 'quietly' leave the country in the company of
armed guards. The destination for Bilal and the considerable amount
of money with him is Italy," government whistleblower and Twitter
phenomenon Fuat Avni revealed in a series of tweets on Monday.

Fuat Avni has been a thorn in the side of President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) for
nearly two years now, having correctly revealed many of their top
secret plans.

President Erdogan has allegedly been worried by an internal
investigation file, which establishes that he could be tried for
treason - the only crime for which a Turkish president can undergo
prosecution. The investigation file implicates Erdogan for his
involvement with the Kurdish settlement process, and has prompted
the president to send his son out of the country.

Avni claimed that Bilal Erdogan flew to Italy on Sept. 27, and that
the plan includes the possibility of his extended stay, allowing him
to take in other family members if required.

While there, he is also expected to tend to the family's bank accounts
in Switzerland and other countries, managing billions of dollars in
family finances. He will be staying in the vicinity of Lake Como,
near the Swiss border, giving him easy access to Swiss banks.

The family will decide whether or not Bilal will return depending on
the situation that emerges from the Nov. 1 snap election.

"[President Erdogan's] fears have reached unprecedented heights. In
his mind, he's planning to first sneak out all his money, then his
family and finally himself," Avni tweeted.

Avni claimed that Erdogan had given the task of arranging his son's
move to his "dirtiest" lieutenant, acting Foreign Minister Feridun
Sinirlioglu, who in turn had mobilized his "most trusted man,"
Ambassador to Rome AydÄ±n Sezgin. Avni added that Sinirlioglu was
particularly pleased with the arrangement, since he expected to
receive a big commission without having to commit to anything just yet.

Bilal's armed guards were unable bring their weapons with them due
to Italy's gun laws, but Sinirlioglu was reportedly able to solve
the problem through trickery: the Turkish officials claimed that
the guards had been appointed as security by the Milan Consulate,
thus granting them permission to carry arms.

Sinirlioglu and Sezgin have also connected Bilal Erdogan with some
French nationals, says Avni, who will help smuggle him out of Italy
if the need arises.

In a second series of tweets posted Monday afternoon, Fuat Avni claimed
that President Erdogan has tasked his close personal aid, former
Interior Minister Erkan Ala, with finding a way to shift the blame for
the Kurdish settlement process - a potentially treasonous issue - onto
public servants and the military. Avni also claimed that many public
servants from the Prime Ministry, Justice Ministry, Interior Ministry
and Foreign Ministry, upon learning that the president's son had been
sneak out of the country, got in touch with the presidential palace
and also demanded out. "Erdogan's lieutenants are currently busy trying
to convince them to stay," Avni said, adding that the president needs
the public servants to cover up the mess he has gotten himself into.

This is the sequel to "Pinocchio Was Born in Turkey" (August 15,
Keghart.com) about the further liberties President Recep T. Erdogan
and official Turkey take to glorify imaginary Turkish contribution
to civilization. Part I cited 12 major historic instances where,
unencumbered by facts, Erdogan and Co. play havoc with the truth.

--Editor.

The Ankara regime and the Turkish establishment, knowing full well that
the Ottoman Empire/Turkey were established by the Seljuk and Ottoman
Turks through genocide, theft, rape, and other assorted unspeakable
deeds, are permanently busy asserting Turkey's legitimacy and
imagined glory. To that end, one of the weapons the Ankara bureaucrats
and Turkish "historians" use is to promote Turkish contribution to
civilization. Thus the well-financed Turkish marketing gang is eager
to place "Turkey's heritage" in the global public's eye.

The UNESCO World Heritage List is such a forum. Fifteen "Turkish"
sites appear on the list. However, a junior high student, checking the
Internet, will quickly determine that only one "Turkish" site belongs
in the list and even that has dubious Turkish pedigree. Here's the
UNESCO list.

1. TROY The city has nothing to do with Turkish
civilization. Immortalized by Homer in his two epics, it was built
4,000 years ago. During the many cruel centuries the Ottomans ruled
the region, the effendis, the beys, and aghas were unaware of the
city's existence. It was only in 1870, in the last decades of the "Sick
Man of Europe", that archeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the
city. He managed to do so only after bribing the Ottoman government
to allow him to excavate.

2. XANTHOS-LETOON The archeological complex is what's left of the
capital of the Lycian's, an Indo-European people.

3. HATTUSHA It was the capital of the Hittites. Dating from the 2nd
millennium B.C., it has several famous gates (Lion's and Royal). The
Hittite Temple, from the 13th century B.C., is the best preserved
of what remains. Many historians have made a credible case that
the Hittites were related to the neighboring Armenians. Some people
even believe that HYE (the Armenian word for Armenian) derives from
the Hittites.

4. NEMRUD Turkish "scholars" acknowledge that the city was founded
by Antiochus I of Commagene but they never mention that Antiochus was
partly Armenian and the Commagene, the kingdom he ruled north of Syria
after the break-up of Alexander Great's empire, was closely related
to the Armenian Orontid (Yervantian) dynasty and along with Sophene
(Dzovpk in Armenian) was part of a larger Armenian state. The Turkish
"historians" say Commagene was Macedonian, Persian, and Anatolian.

Anatolian? Has there been such a nation? Only Turkish scholars know
for sure. As well, the later kings of Commagene were all descended
from the Armenian Onontids.

The Turks also don't say that the giant stone heads of Nemrud have
Armenian hairstyles and headgear. The Turks certainly don't refer
to the Armenian legend that Haig, the patriarch of the Armenians,
killed Pel/Bel here and buried the ogre in the neighboring mountains.

According to Armenians, this is where the Armenian nation was born.

5. HIERAPOLIS (Pamukkale in Turkish) The city, famous for its ancient
hot springs, was a Graeco-Roman metropolis. It was a flourishing spa
thousands of years before the Turkish marauding hordes fled their
desert homeland in Central Asia and razed the Middle East.

7. PERGAMON (now called Bergama by the Turks) Hellenistic city circa
3rd century B.C.

8. EPHESUS (now called Efes by the Turks) A Hellenistic-Roman-Byzantian
city, it was once the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of
the World.

9. SAFRANBOLU It's the ancient Greek Saframpolis, famous for its
saffron dying agent. It was an important caravan stop in Ottoman times.

So far we have seen that nine out of the 15 Turkish UNESCO World
Heritage sites are not Turkish. Let's look at the remaining six:

10. SELIMIYE MOSQUE (in Adrianopolis/Edirne) The mosque, along with
the school, clock tower, courtyard, covered market, library, were
built by Armenian architect Sinan.

11. DIYARBAKIR FORTRESS & HEUSEL GARDENS The Turkish "scholars"
say that it was a Hellenistic, Roman, Sassanid, Byzantian, Islamic
and Ottoman centre. They make certain not to mention that it was
the capital of the invisible nation called Armenians and that the
city was founded by Armenian King Dikran II and was named after him
(Dikranagerd in Armenian).

12. BURSA & CUMALIKIZIK The first capital of the Ottomans was known as
Mysian Olympus by the Romans. Turks admit the influence of everyone
from the Byzantines to Arabs to Persians on the architecture of the
14th century city but somehow forget to mention the Armenian influence.

13. GREAT MOSQUE & HOSPITAL OF DIVRIGI Turkish propagandists boast
that the religious building in Sivas has a "highly sophisticated
technique of vault construction and creative, exuberant type of
decorations, sculpture." How could nomadic Turks, fresh from their
arid desert, build such a "sophisticated" mosque in 1228? One doesn't
have to visit Armenian Ani to know that the "highly sophisticated"
vaults are an Armenian invention. Some European scholars even believe
Gothic architecture, celebrated for its soaring vaults, originated
in Armenia. Throughout the Middle Ages (in Byzantium --and later in
the Crusader era), Armenian architects and builders were pioneers in
innovative construction--religious, military and civic. Divrigi is
the Turkish version of the Armenian Tephrik.

King Senekerim/Hovhanness of Vasbouragan swapped with Byzantium his
domain for the Sivas region. Earlier, in the 9th century, it had been
the stronghold of the heretical Armenian Paulicians.

14. HISTORIC AREAS of ISTANBUL Since the Armenians, Greeks, and Jews
made up the bulk of the Ottoman middle class in Constantinople... and
since they were far more innovative, progressive and educated than
the Turks, many of these houses were built by them. The houses were
also certainly the work of architects from these three minorities.

15. GOREME NATIONAL PARK and ROCK SITES The rock-hewn sanctuaries of
Cappadocia are the result of erosion.

Here Greek hermits and priests built many churches (Nazareth, St.

Barbara, etc.) as they led a monastic life in a landscape sculpted by
nature. Turkish invaders--as was their commonplace practice--killed
the priests and destroyed the churches as they moved into central
Anatolia in the Middle Ages. And now the descendants of those killers
are earning tourist dollars showing international visitors the remnants
of those same churches.

It's not a surprise that not a single one of the 15 UNESCO World
Heritage sites in Turkey can be said to be Turkish.

Ahmet Akgunduz, the rector at the Islamic University of Rotterdam,
has once again caused an uproar with hateful remarks about political
opponents. This time he said that he is praying for those responsible
for the recent bombing in the Turkish capital and called the Kurds
"dogs".

On his twitter account Akgunduz wrote a series of tweets including
that he is "praying for the heroes who are exterminating the dogs that
dig ditches". Erik-Jan Zurcher, a professor of Turkish language and
culture in Leiden, explained the tweet to Dutch newspaper AD. "With
'dogs' Akgunduz is referring to the Kurdish youth who dig trenches to
defend themselves in southeastern Turkey against the army." he said
to the newspaper. The "heroes" are the bombers. "So he is praying
for the salvation of the bombers."

The VVD has had enough. "It can't go on like this", parliamentarian
Pieter Duisenberg said to the newspaper. He can't understand how
the Akgunduz can be in charge of an institution that educates Dutch
students. "He is working on segregation instead of seeking a connection
with the Netherlands. How can a school with this man as figurehead
still have the approval of the Dutch government?"

In July the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, already wanted the
RUI's accreditation withdrawn. This can only be done if the quality
of education at the university is inadequate. Accreditation board
NAVO ruled that there is nothing wrong with the quality of education
and that the accreditation will remain in tact.

Education Minister Jet Bussemaker currently has a legislative proposal
in front of the Council of State that would giver her the power to
intervene at institutions that do not comply with the order to social
responsibility. "Once the law is in force, I will not hesitate to
use its power", the Minister said.

This is not the first time that Akgunduz is under fire for hateful
statements. In June, just before the recent elections in Turkey, the
rector called on Turkish people to vote for the right-wing AK party
on his Facebook profile. "Do not vote for gay and Armenians", he wrote.

In January last year, Duisenberg also called for the IUR's
accreditation to be withdrawn after a comment that could be interpreted
as permission to commit violence. In 2013 Akgunduz called protesters
against the Turkish government wicked and supporters of Assad, who
kill Muslims.

JERUSALEM -- The history of Erdogan's presidency will be written
as one of creeping, sometimes galloping, autocratism and of renewed
violence in the Kurdish southeast. Erdogan's new presidential palace
and declarations about Muslims discovering America seemed like loony
signs of a leader simply not ready to give up and slightly out of
step with the rest of the world. They amused but also scared us.

The rejection of calls to recognize the Armenian Genocide during last
year's 100th anniversary seemed merely like reflexes of a Turkish
strongman who inserted himself not only into the republican tradition
of denial but who also continually tries to connect himself back to
Ottoman times. With the renewed war against the Kurds, however, we
should recognize him for what he is: an autocrat in the making who
will not be removed by democratic means should the Turkish people
wish to do so and who is willing to sacrifice the lives and freedoms
of Turkish citizens for his goals.

Most of the world stood by in silence when the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide came around last April. While there were notable
exceptions, most of the world left Armenians and Turks to fight it out
between themselves. A small part of the world saw with great interest
that the Kurds in Turkey were at the forefront of reconciliation with
the Armenians.

What we are witnessing at the moment are the final stages in the
demolition of the checks and balances in the Turkish political and
societal system.

So, yes, the renewed violence in the Turkish southeast owes a lot
to an undigested history of violence against all sorts of ethnic and
otherwise defined enemies of the Turkish state. As sociologist Fatma
Muge GÃ¶cek has shown recently, once more, there is a long tradition
of denying violence and of integrating past violence into a sanitized
and rationalized narrative of the nation. The renewed war against
the Kurds -- within the southeast under the guise of curfews as well
as beyond Turkey's borders -- is the latest proof that Turkey has to
come to terms with its history of violence. That history needs to be
overcome and resolved within Turkey, lest it continue.

Now, in the last few days, over 1,000 Turkish academics signed an
online petition to get the Turkish government to stop its undeclared
war against the Kurds in the southeast and to resume the peace
process. All this somewhat coincided with the recent bomb attack in
Istanbul -- and Erdogan had much more to say about the academics'
petition than about the bombers. In an intense and hateful commentary,
the president called the academics traitors of the country, alleged
they were colluding with foreign interests and terrorists and singled
them out for all kinds of reprisals. Others followed suit. Now these
academics have to fear physical violence, losing their jobs and
prosecution from the state.

Where are all those who are ashamed of the West for propping up people
like Assad as we are propping up Erdogan now, in the name of stability
and in order to control the stream of refugees -- from Assad's Syria?

Erdogan has consistently been fighting and constraining any form of
civil society in the last years, most prominently by harassing the
press in Turkey. And we, the Western world, otherwise always critical
of Muslim countries, stood by silently. Now, Erdogan has stepped up
his game and is attacking the Kurds. We stand silent. And now he is
attacking and prosecuting the people in Turkey who stand up to him
and support the Kurds. Yet we stand silent.

Not only is it interesting to see how little interest the Western media
have taken in the last months in the issue of the "Kurdish curfews"
in the southeast, but it is also interesting to take another look at
our silence. So, where are all the people lobbying for the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide now? Can't they support those who are trying
to stop violence in the very same regions in which the genocide took
place 100 years ago? Where are all the Europeans who argued against
Turkish EU membership in the last two decades because of its alleged
lack of civil society -- when the rather vibrant civil society is
being demolished piece by piece? Where are all those all over Europe
and America who have been philosophizing about the impossibility of
a Muslim democracy now? Where are all those so quick to point at the
"bad Muslim" now when civil society is standing up to state-sponsored
violence and is being bullied, threatened and persecuted by an
autocrat in the making? Where are all those who are ashamed of the
West for propping up people like Assad as we are propping up Erdogan
now, in the name of stability and in order to control the stream of
refugees -- from Assad's Syria?

We are co-complicit in many crimes happening around the world all
the time and at any given time. The Middle East is an especially
complicated place at the moment; losing Turkey as an ally does not
seem to be an option. But, as things seem to be developing, we are
losing Turkey anyway. Even if we do nothing. What we are witnessing
at the moment -- even if the international press often chooses to
look away, especially in the last months -- are the final stages in
the demolition of the checks and balances in the Turkish political
and societal system. We can all feel that it won't stop with what is
happening in these weeks. The trajectory is deadly -- for people and
for Turkish democracy and civil society. The new Turkey that Erdogan
is building by sacrificing the Kurds, by silencing the opposition and
by dismantling free speech should frighten us. If we really stand for
democracy, open societies and freedom of speech, then we must stand
with the Turkish academics now.